


"Thomas."

by jimkrk



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: M/M, Major Spoilers, paradise stuff, this is also really cheesy, this is basically some romantic stuff idk how to tag things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1693964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimkrk/pseuds/jimkrk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Then something changed. Minho couldn’t quite put his finger onto it, until he looked at the laughing<br/>Thomas again. It was a mix of happiness, warmth and delight. He finally felt at home. After everything he’d been through, he had found a place to call his home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Thomas."

Minho lied in bed, his entire body feeling feverish even though he was shaking and his teeth were clattering. The fever had gotten worse in the last few days. Nobody could do something about it. The immunes who were doctors back in the flare infected world didn’t know what to do. Neither did Minho.  
He should’ve been expecting it. He’d never been a lucky guy in life. Ever. Not in the life after his memory had been wiped, and probably neither before.  
His forehead throbbed, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. Minho drifted off for a moment, was pulled into a black void that filled itself with colours after a brief time.

\---

 _Thomas._  
It had always been about him. Since the day he’d arrived. When Newt had told him about the greenie, he didn’t care. Just another newbie who thinks he could act all bossy. Not the first time.  
But that day, when Thomas ran up to him after he’d collapsed on the floor, had changed everything. Minho had been speechless for a brief moment; and it surely wasn’t just his reckless running away that day. Thomas was curious. He wanted to know everything.

A bad attempt to make a joke. A weak smile. A look of confusion and a laugh.  
Those were the things that Minho really noticed when they talked. The things that got him falling for Thomas from the beginning on.

\---

“Everyone just wants to live. Nobody cares about others.” Newt had been whispering those words the night before.  
Minho hadn’t entirely understood their meaning until now. His friends were dying left and right, but he kept running. His eyes tearing and his ears ringing badly. His legs kept carrying him through the storm. So fast, that under normal circumstances, he could have reached the city within the next three minutes. But the wind, the noise, the lightning and thunder, all those weren’t helping.  
He saw Newt falling next to him and wanted to help, but he wanted to live. He couldn’t risk it one more time. Couldn’t risk seeing it again. Death.  
Minho had tried to help Jack right before the lightning struck him and instantly knew it was too late. He knew he’d never get the sight of a burned Jack, swimming in a pool of his own blood out of his head. Never.  
He kept running and running, saw the city coming nearer. But there was also the image of Jack, burning behind his eyes.  
A sudden heat flushed through him, throwing him to the sandy ground. The pain bent him down with a force he’d never experienced before. He screamed. He screamed so loud, it might’ve ripped his throat raw.  
Then the realisation struck him. He was on fire.  
Minho thrashed around, shovelling sand over his body, screaming the entire time. He couldn’t feel anymore. His vision blurred by the sand that started to crust around his eyes, the tears welling up and the eternal pain. After a time he just saw everything in black.  
As someone grabbed him by the arms and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, the black corrupted into a flash of bright red and he screamed again.  
“C’mon Minho! Don’t you die on me.” Someone yelled right next to his ear. “Please, Minho! You can’t do this to me! Keep going!”

It was Thomas. Once again it was Thomas who’d saved him.

\---

The ceiling was collapsing, the building shook wildly. It wouldn’t take long until it broke down entirely.  
Minho ran next to Brenda, dragging her by the arm towards the room with the flat-trans. Behind them were Gally, Frypan, Sonya, Teresa, Harriet and of course, the immunes WICKED had kidnapped.  
“Thomas!” Minho yelped, as he finally saw his best friend’s face again. He pulled Thomas into a tight, yet brief hug.  
“We gotta get the immunes out of here before everything collapses.” Was the only thing Thomas got out.  
“Everyone goes through the flat-trans! Now!” Minho shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You guys,” He pointed at Sonya, Harriet and Frypan, “you go first.”  
They all tried to get out as fast as possible and once again he saw how frightened those people were. Suddenly he felt responsible for everything WICKED had ever done. As if it was his fault. He knew he couldn’t have done a thing, yet the feeling wouldn’t leave him. It just became worse and more intense with every passing person. 

Thomas looked at him, Gally, Brenda and Teresa as soon as they were the only ones left in the room. “We’re survivors.” He said, but it almost drowned in the sound of the collapsing building. His shoulders slumped and his gaze went down to the floor. “Shuck it. Just run.”  
Without a word more, they left the room and stepped through the flat-trans. It was still a weird feeling for Minho to just walk through a wall, even though this was the third time using it.  
What he saw, when he stepped out, was unbelievable. It was in fact, Paradise.

“I can’t believe we made it.” Minho said after he found a neat place to sleep next to a slowly flowing river, near a small patch with trees. A few immunes had set up their sleeping places near them, but leaving a lot of space between them all. None of them had talked. Everyone; and it had seemed like even the world around them, had been quiet for the last few hours.  
“Me neither.” Thomas whispered in response and laid down right next to Minho. Just now in the light of the nearly setting sun, he realised how tired Thomas looked. Not tired as in having a lack of sleep, but tired of being alive. His eyes seemed too big for his head with those rings beneath them. A grave look was on his face that didn’t seem to vanish. The loss of weight within the last few weeks and it made the contours of his face sharper and even hollower. All in one, he looked worn out.  
Minho squeezed Thomas’s arm. “It’s over.” He whispered.  
Thomas didn’t answer; he just rested his head on Minho’s shoulder and closed his eyes.  
It was all over. The trials. The continuous anxiety of something bad happening to him. If this wasn’t another trap, they’d finally be safe.  
He slung an arm around Thomas’s shoulder and put the other arm beneath his own head.  
“I’m tired, Minho.” Thomas whispered, his voice small and hollow. “I’m so tired.”  
“We’ll be fine. I promise.”

\---

It’s been four months now.  
Two months since the oldest of them had started exploring the surrounding territory. They’d found something like an abandoned city, near the ocean. But just something like abandoned.  
Everything was new and intact. The water was running, the electricity was also working. There were apartments for more than 400 people and also shops. Just there were no people and the shops were empty, but everyone got used to it pretty quickly. They were fast to adjust.

Everyone had gotten an apartment for themselves, to keep their space if they needed it. It hadn’t took long for Minho to realise that he couldn’t stay alone for too long without panicking. He had tried everything. Nothing had worked. Not until he moved in with Thomas.  
He was fine despite the nightmares. 

Minho woke screaming, beaded in sweat. He heaved heavily, his chest rising up and down too fast. “Nightmares again?” His friend’s familiar voice asked. It was dark, so he wasn’t able to see Thomas, but he could feel him sitting down on his bed next to him.  
“Yeah.” Minho answered after he’d calmed down a little.  
“We should go for a walk. I’m gonna get your jacket.” Thomas stood up and walked out of the room.  
In the meanwhile Minho put on his training pants and pulled over a sweater. It was probably cold outside. 

Minho closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The cold air stung like a sledgehammer being pressed against his throat. He didn’t care. This was better than anything else right now.  
They walked towards the coast and both of them stayed quiet. It was a peaceful silence. They didn’t hear the engines of the city, the constant talking of people or kids’ screaming. Minho wasn’t really used to a life in peace. He constantly felt like it’s been going too well for too long, that someone had set up a trap for him.  
Thomas stopped walking when they were a few feet away from the water and sat down. Minho let himself fall down on the sandy ground right next to Thomas. He stared up at the moon and the stars, something he also couldn’t really get used to, while Thomas stared at the continuously moving sea. 

“I still can’t believe were here.” Thomas muttered. _You kept screaming my name and I didn’t know what to do. I don’t even know how to handle my own nightmares. I’m so scared, Minho._ He doesn’t say.  
“Me neither.” Minho answered. _I keep seeing you die. It hurts more every time. I’m afraid that something might happen to you and I won’t be able to save you. I’m so scared, Thomas._

Thomas laid his arm around Minho’s shoulders and rested his head against Minho’s.  
They stayed like this until the morning came. Until the warmth started brushing over their faces. Everything drowned in the red light and it was surely the most beautiful thing Minho’d ever experienced.  
“Thank you, Thomas.” He whispered after time. “Thank you so much.”

\---

“Can we watch something different? This is klunk.” It was one of those lazy evening he always spent with Thomas. They would just sit on a couch, eat what they’d cooked earlier and watch tv. The only problem was, Thomas had a horrible taste in tv shows.  
“Minho, you know I love this show.” Thomas said and groaned.  
“And you know I hate this show.” Minho exclaimed. His head hurt, maybe because of the fact that he hung face-down from the couch. His legs hung over the upper lean and his arms were hanging to the floor. It must’ve looked ridiculous. After a while he got into a half sitting, half lying position again and made his decision.  
He threw himself against Thomas, hoping to be able to grab the tv remote. Thomas yelped and held it up. “You won’t get it, shuck-face.”  
Minho reached out for it, but fell down on the floor because Thomas had been wiggling his legs. He got up again and thought for a moment. They were just friends, could he get too close? He could, it was a fight after all. For a tv remote, but who cared? Minho almost jumped onto Thomas lap, his legs spread so both of his knees touched an other side of Thomas’ hips. “Give it to me!” Minho was flailing his arms, trying to get the remote out of Thomas’ grip.  
“Never.” Thomas yelled and laughed. A laugh Minho had never seen or heard before. It was real.  
His mouth wide open, his eyes squinting and his head was leaning back. Thomas was truly beautiful, Minho thought. Not that it mattered to him. It was just Thomas.  
“C’mon Tommy!” Minho tried to grab the remote for one last time and as Thomas held it out of his reach he let himself fall down on the couch again.  
“Please, Tommy. Please.” He said and the situation changed rapidly. Thomas flinched and the laughter stopped within a second. He dropped the remote and got up fast, making his way through the door.  
Minho sat stupefied. What had he done wrong? 

“Thomas!” He yelled out into the night. Nothing.  
“Thomas!”  
“Minho, go home.” Thomas’s voice answered, calm yet thick with emotion. “Please.”  
“Are you okay?” Minho asked, as chills were running down his spine.  
“I’m fine. Just go home again, I’ll be back soon.”  
Minho didn’t answer, just turned around and went back into their apartment. He was worried about his friend. Were it his actions that made Thomas upset, or sad, even? Probably not.  
It were his words that triggered something inside Thomas. 

He didn’t sleep much that night. Not at all.  
That night he fell asleep to the sound of Thomas screaming and breaking things.  
That night he woke to the sound of Thomas sobbing.  
“Thomas.” Minho whispered as he opened his eyes to see Thomas crying, pressing a pillow to his body.  
“Morning.” Thomas sniffled, trying to smile.  
“Thomas.” Minho said again, this time with more force in his voice. What was it that worried him?  
He looked away, trying to avoid Minho’s gaze. His bottom lip was trembling.  
“What. Is. It?”  
“It was me.”  
Minho was confused. What had he done?  
“I killed your best friend.”  
 _Newt._

The anger was welling up in Minho like a wildfire. It spread into every last inch of his body. His face heated up; and then it happened. He hit Thomas; slapped him hard across the face.  
“Why, Thomas?” He yelled, rage filled his voice.  
Thomas didn’t answer. He pressed himself against the wall, his eyes widen in terror as he tried to get as much distance as possible between him and Minho.  
“What gave you the right to kill him?!” Minho kept shouting at him, a stream of insults, Minho had never heard himself using, followed.  
“Minho, please..” Thomas started, but Minho cut him off.  
“Go away.” He said, his voice far too calm for the situation.  
“But..”  
“I said, GO AWAY!”  
Thomas got up and left, leaving Minho entirely alone.

It had taken him a long time to calm down, he’d even taken the day off from work. He’d told his boss that he didn’t feel good, which was partially true, just that he’d been talking about physical pain, not mental pain. Good thing the town council didn’t take their jobs all too serious.

He went out to the gardens were Thomas was working now. It was on the other side of town and also quite far away from civilisation.  
Minho stepped through the door and asked one of the girls from Group B, whom he’d never really talked to, where he could find Thomas.  
“Why? Did something happen?” She asked and her eyes widened. “Minho, you look terrible.”  
“Thanks. Now can you tell me where I can find him?”  
“Sure. He’s in there. He told us he needed a break, but he didn’t start working again since two hours.” She nodded towards one of the sleeping bunks in the east corner of the hall.  
Minho squeezed her shoulder and made his way towards them. On the way he saw Brenda and Teresa who both waved at him with more or less forced smiles.  
He softly knocked at the door and started waiting for response. “Brenda, I said I’m fine.”  
Minho rolled his eyes and walked inside. He closed the door again, slowly shuffling towards him.  
“Thomas?” He whispered in a small voice. He was afraid of what Thomas would say.  
Thomas jumped up, startling Minho.  
“Listen okay? He _begged_ me to do it! He wanted me to kill him. You should’ve seen it! I know it; you would’ve done the same.” Thomas said, his voice trembling.  
“Thomas.” Minho walked towards his friend. “It’s okay.”  
“It’s not okay. I killed him!” Tears started running down the boy’s face.  
Minho stepped forward again and hugged Thomas tightly. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I’m so sorry, Thomas. He’s in a better place now.”  
He cried into Minho’s shoulder, occasional sobs shuddering through him.  
“He’s dead, Minho.” Thomas choked and held Minho even tighter.  
“It’s better than anything else. Believe me. Please.”  
“Min… Minho.”  
“Please.”  
Minho got no answer. But in that moment he vowed to himself, never to mention Newt in Thomas’s presence again. Until his very last day. 

\---

 

“Are you sure?” Minho asked and pushed Thomas a bit forward.  
“Sure as hell.” Thomas answered and took a deep breath.  
They stood right by the ocean and it would be their first time swimming. Minho was sure, despite the loss of his memory that he’d never been swimming before and Thomas didn’t reckon that he did either.  
“But just if you go first, shuck-face.” Thomas grabbed him by the arm and almost threw him into the water. He hit the surface back-first and almost immediately hit the ground beneath it. To his own surprise, he shrieked as the cold water ran over his body.  
“Thomas!” Minho yelped and got up to pull him into the water with him. When Thomas fell, he squeaked like a little girl, which caused Minho to laugh. And after throwing a not seriously meant glare, Thomas joined the laughter.  
Then something changed. Minho couldn’t quite put his finger onto it, until he looked at the laughing  
Thomas again. It was a mix of happiness, warmth and delight. He finally felt at home. After everything he’d been through, he had found a place to call his home. 

 

\---

“Truth or Dare?” Teresa asked Thomas and laughed.  
The former Gladers and the girls from Group B sat all together in their swim suits, bikinis or shorts around a big bonfire they’d sat up in the late afternoon.  
“Truth.” He answered, holding his gaze to the ground.  
Minho had leaned back, shaking his head at how stupid it was. They’d had a nice evening, had grilled steaks and talked about some things. Nobody had mentioned the times before paradise. It was probably some kind of unspoken rule. Nobody wanted to be reminded about anything.  
“Do you like someone?” Teresa asked.  
“Well,” Thomas started.  
It caught Minho’s attention. Did he like someone? Minho lifted his head and looked at Thomas.  
The boy was twisting his fingers and jiggling his legs.  
“I do.” He said.  
They asked all kinds of questions “Who is it?”, “Do I know her?” , “Is she here?” , “Dude, tell me more about her!”  
Thomas just laughed and looked at his hands.  
“Who is it?” Brenda asked and squeezed his shoulder, a motivating undertone filling her voice.  
“Actually, he is right here with us.”  
Nobody said a thing. Thomas had said “he is right here with us.” Hadn’t he? Minho couldn’t help it but smiled.  
“A guy?” Sonya raised her eyebrows, leaning forward. “Can I tell you my first guess?”  
Thomas nodded and smiled.  
“Gally?” Thomas snorted and shook his head.  
“Well, go on.”  
“Frypan?” He shook his head again.  
“Oh god, please don’t tell me it’s Aris. You know he’s together with Keziah.”  
“I wouldn’t be crushing on a guy with a girlfriend, believe me on this.” Sonya laughed.  
“But now I know!” She stood up. “It was too obvious, that’s why I didn’t say it first. I always thought you were just really, really good friends, but then I started seeing the way you always looked at him and I don’t know, but you two spend so much time together and every time you two are separated you stare at him from afar or just search for him. It’s so cute.”  
“Just shuckin’ tell us who you think it is.” Gally said and sighed.  
“It’s Minho. Please tell me it’s him.”  
A slight nod from Thomas was her answer.  
Minho reacted wrong. He giggled. Actually giggled. But then Sonya stared at him with a slight smirk on her lips. He hadn’t meant to react like this. He probably didn’t really liked Thomas like that. It was most likely just a crush. It didn’t mean anything.  
“Aw, you two like each other!” Teresa squeaked and clapped her hands.  
“We don’t. At least not that way.” Minho said curtly, standing up.  
“Minho, sit down again.”  
He didn’t answer, he just left and ran the long way back to his apartment. Not the one he and Thomas were sharing, but his old apartment. He needed to be alone now.

 _What had he been thinking?_ He stared at the grey, empty walls surrounding him. _Why did he think it was okay to just run away? He’d hurt Thomas too many times._ Minho felt empty. He should’ve just told Thomas that his feelings were mutual. But what did he do? He ran away.  
Minho knew that he had to stop running away from everything.  
He was running from something nobody could see. Not even Minho himself.

“It’s okay.” A familiar voice behind him said. Minho turned around to see Thomas smiling at him; smiling through the tears that were running down his cheeks.  
“It really is. I never expected you to like me back.”  
Minho swallowed hard as he stared at Thomas who still tried his best to keep himself together.  
“You don’t need to apologise, Minho. I just got here to tell you. And if you want, you can move back here.”  
“No.” Minho whispered.  
“But..”  
“See, Thomas. I’m always pushing you away. I’m too stubborn.” He cut him off, already regretting it.  
“What do you mean?” Now he’d confused Thomas. He almost smiled about the memory of Thomas being confused 90% of the time.  
“Nothing.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I.. I.” Minho started but held himself back. He stared at Thomas, whose eyes were now filled with anxiety.  
“Yeah?”  
He couldn’t get the words out. Slowly he shook his head. Thomas blew out an annoyed huff and left the room with a roll of his eyes. He was right about to close the door when Minho said it.  
“Because I love you.”

The next thing Minho remembered was Thomas kissing him. First it had felt so weird and surreal, but it’d vanished within a second.  
They were kissing for a while until both had to pull off to breathe.  
“You’re a shuckin’ great kisser, Minho.” Thomas said, a big smile on his face.  
“Don’t get all lovey-dovey on me.” Minho rolled his eyes. “ I’m not a girl.”  
“But you sure kiss like one.”

\---

“Oh, that much about you two not liking each other that way.” Teresa tried to hide a huge smile that tried to creep onto her face.  
“Shut up.” Thomas said and adjusted his position, so he halfway lay on Minho’s lap and halfway near the near the food Teresa, Brenda, Mel, Marcia and Sam had been cooking the entire day. They’d wanted to make a nice picnic, but everyone who got invited had had something to do, so they came up with a better idea. Everyone would just bring something themselves and then they all would have a dinner at night with torch lights set up around them on the coast.  
Thomas, Minho and Teresa were the first ones to be there, so they had already set up the torch lights and some more or less solid benches.  
“You know I’m this hopelessly romantic kinda girl. I just find this all really adorable.”  
Minho smirked and closed his eyes. “What?” Teresa asked.  
“You told Thomas to go after me, didn’t you?”  
“Well yeah. I did.” She looked a bit nervous for a second, but then she saw Minho smiling and her face evened.  
“Thanks, dude. I swear, I might start liking you.”  
“You’re talking nonsense. As if you’d ever start liking her.” Thomas said and punched him in the calf.  
“Yeah, you’re right.”

Aris sat down next to him, holding Keziah’s hand. Gally flopped down on the fallen tree next to Thomas. Frypan, some girls from Group B, Brenda, a few others, who worked in the shops in town and some of the people who worked in the fabrics followed.  
Everyone was talking, smiling and laughing. Brenna, who worked in the bakery in town, had even brought an acoustic guitar. She always talked to Minho in the morning when he came over to get bread. She had been so proud when she first talked about having her own guitar. And she’d seemed ever more proud when she’d told him that she learned playing it all by herself.  
Minho was quiet. He stared at the setting sun, held Thomas’s hand and listened to the music.  
“Hey.” Thomas whispered and squeezed Minho’s hand.  
“Mh?” Minho raised his eyebrows.  
“Would you mind getting some glasses for us?”  
“Sure.” He leaned back, grabbed into their basket and took out two glasses.  
“What are those for?” Minho asked.  
“Wait for it.”

Teresa filled everyone’s glasses with wine and stood up straight.  
“Really, Teresa? Wine?” Brenda asked and stared at the red liquid in her glass.  
“It’s a special night, isn’t it?” She answered and stemmed one hand onto her hip.  
“Whatever.”  
Everyone looked at Teresa now, and probably everyone knew what she was about to do now.  
“I know it’s cheesy, but I’m so happy for you.” She smiled and Minho and Thomas, who sat side by side, their fingers intertwined. “You two deserve it.”  
Then she raised her glass towards the sky. “To Thomas and Minho.”  
Everyone around them raised their glasses towards Teresa’s.  
“To Thomas and Minho.”

\---

The heat brought him back to consciousness. The darkness faded and he eventually saw Thomas, who sat next to him, holding his hands. He was in tears, but he didn’t really seem to notice Minho’s wake-up.  
“Hey, Tommy.” Minho whispered, his voice raspy.  
“Oh god, you’re awake. I thought you wouldn’t make it.” Thomas broke out into a smile and kissed him. “You wouldn’t wake up for two days.”  
It shocked Minho. He’d been unconscious for two days?  
“Everyone said you would die if you wouldn’t wake up soon. Minho, I.. I was so afraid. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.” A low whine escaped Thomas.  
“I’m invincible.” Minho said and smirked.  
“You’re such an idiot.” Thomas smiled and held back a sob.  
“I know.” He sat up, clutching to Thomas, to stay in a somewhat steady position.  
“I can’t believe I love you.”  
“Me neither.” Minho whispered and rested his head against Thomas’s.  
Maybe he was a lucky guy. He’d just never really noticed it.  
He had Thomas. And that was all he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, thank you guys for reading heh.  
> and i hope you liked it.


End file.
